I'll Protect You
by BananaSalt123
Summary: Yukki has died! What will Yuno do now?
1. Chapter 1

"Gasai-san, I'm sorry but... Yukiteru-kun is dead."

The pink haired yandere could not believe her ears. Her beloved Yukki? Dead? Impossible! She pressed the blade of her knife to the messenger's throat.

"That's a lie and you know it. Now tell me where Yukki is, Akise Aru," Yuno snarled angrily.

"Now why would I lie to you about this, Gasai-san? You know I love Yukiteru-kun just as much as you do," Akise replied calmly.

"Y-You're lying, you bastard! Yukki. Can't. Die," she growled.

"Gasai-San, it would be best if you calm down before you do something irration-"

"Don't tell me what to do!" She screeched as she applied more pressure to her blade. "You killed him, didn't you! ANSWER ME!"

Akise looked down sadly. "I would never do such a thing to my beloved Yukiteru-kun... I'm sorry."

Yuno did the only thing she could think to do. She turned the knife on her self. "A world without Yukki is a world not worth living in..."

"No!" Akise jumped up and grabbed the knife from her hand. "I can't let you do that."

"And why not?" Yuno sobbed.

"Contrary to what you believe, I do care about you, Gasai-san." He said, putting an arm around her shoulders.

"DON'T TOUCH ME. ONLY YUKKI CAN COMFORT ME!" She screamed as she broke down in tears.

Akise ignored her and pulled her to him once more, ignoring her protests and pressing her head to his shoulder as she cried.

"YUKKI!" She cried.

Akise silently held her and rubbed her back, not wanting to do anything that could set her off and result in her killing him and everyone in a 5 mile radius. Yuno cried for hours until she ran out of tears and passed out. Akise silently picked her up and carried her to an empty house, and set her on the couch. As he covered her with a blanket, he noticed how sweet and innocent she looked when she wasn't going crazy and killing everyone. He leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"Don't worry Gasai-san... I'll protect you now that Yukiteru-kun isn't around to do it..."


	2. Chapter 2

Many hours later, Yuno began to stir. Akise took notice and prepared for the burst of insanity that was bound to come with the realization that Yukki is no longer among the living.

"Yukki..." The pink haired girl murmured.

Akise felt a strange feeling in his heart. It was unlike anything he had felt before. He... Pitied her. He wanted her to stop being sad. The only emotions he had previously been familiar with had been his curiousity that comes with the dream of becoming a detective, and his love for Yukki. Until now, he hadn't realized his range of emotions have been severely limited.

He was broken out of his reverie at Yuno sitting up and looking around in confusion. "Where's Yukki...?"

"Yukiteru-kun is dead, Gasai-san."

In less than half a second he was pinned to the ground with her hands around his throat. "DON'T LIE TO ME. WHY ARE YOU HIDING YUKKI FROM ME. HE'S MINE, NOT YOURS. IF YOU VALUE YOUR LIFE TELL ME WHERE HE IS!"

Akise calmly flipped her over so she was on the ground with her arms pinned above her head. "I'm not lying, Gasai-san... Yukiteru-kun and the 8th were killed yesterday by the 11th.

Yuno suddenly stopped struggling. "The... 11th killed Yukki?"

Akise solemnly nodded.

Yuno's expression darkened. "I'll kill him!"

"_We'll _kill him," Akise corrected.

Yuno glared daggers at him. "I don't want anything to do with you! You tried to steal Yukki from me!"

"Yukiteru-kun is dead now, so there's no way I can possibly steal him from you. Now that's our rivalry can be put to the side, I'm suggesting we become allies."

"And why should I do that?" Yuno growled.

"Because it's what Yukiteru-kun would have wanted."

"You don't know that!"

"Oh, but I do. Of I remember correctly his last words to me were_ "If I die, protect Yuno. Please,"_. So yes, us becoming allies is exactly what he would have wanted."

Yuno crossed her arms. "Well... I guess I can use you until I kill the 11th. Then I don't care what happens to you after. Your life means nothing to me."

"Well unfortunately for you, your life DOES mean something to me, so you'll be stuck with me until you win this survival game whether you like it or not."


	3. Chapter 3

Yuno opened her mouth to argue, then quickly shut it. She realized it was pointless to argue with him, and decided to allow him to stick around until he outlived his usefulness.

"All right. I guess you can stay. For now. But don't test me. I won't hesitate to kill you."

"I thought as much,"Akise said as he offered a hand to the pink haired girl on the floor.

Yuno ignored his hand and stood up on her own. Ignoring the girl's obvious distaste for him he grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the house.

"Where the hell do you think you're taking me?" She growled.

"I have information on where the 7th diary holders are located. We're going to get rid of them before we move onto the 11th," he replied.

"I don't care about them. I only want to avenge Yukki..."

"And you will. In due time. The only diary holders left are the 7ths and the 11th. It would make more sense to go for the 7ths first, as I believe they will be easier to eliminate."

Yuno rolled her eye but decided to comply. The sooner they get rid of the 7ths, the sooner she can get revenge on the 11th for killing her precious Yukki.

"Their diaries are a fierce combination, as they can watch what the other is doing at all times, much like your Yukiteru Diary. Unfortunately, with Yukiteru-kun being dead, your diary is virtually useless to us," he said, taking her diary and checking the entries that tell of what Yukki is doing every ten minutes to see one entry repeated over and over again:

Yukki's dead.

"But that doesn't matter," Akise continued on. "With my intelligence and your strength I believe we should be able to easily overcome the other diary holders."

Yuno snatched her diary back.

"I didn't say you could touch it!" She snarled, holding it to her chest while trying to forget the horrifying message in her phone. "This is the last thing I have to remind me of Yukki..."

Deciding that it would be best to get her moving as soon as possible to keep her from wallowing in her distressed thoughts and being immobile due to grief, he took her hand again.

"Come on. A good murder or two should make you feel better."

****Time Skip****

"And here we are."

"Sakurami Tower?" Yuno questioned. "Why would they be here?"

"According to my sources, this is where the pair met around fourteen years ago."

"And what does that have to do with us being here?"

"Well, also according to my sources, the 7ths are to be married today at this location."

"M-married?"

"Yes, married."

Yuno started to tremble slightly. Akise took notice and asked her what was wrong. The girl seemed not to hear him and continued to shake and mumble slightly to herself.

"Gasai-san... Gasai-san what's wrong? Yuno!"

Yuno jumped at the use of her first name. "W-what?"

"What's wrong?"

"Y-Yukki and I were s-supposed to get married... He p-promised... He said we would get married when we grew up and would watch the stars together!" She cried bursting into tears.

Akise took her hands in his. "I didn't know that... Well... Since it'll be easier for you, I'll go in and get rid of the 7ths on my own. Stay out here and stay hidden," he said, as he kissed the top of her head before heading towards the doors to dispose of the newly-wed couple himself.


	4. Chapter 4

"A-Akise! Wait!" Yuno called, jumping up and grabbing his wrist before he could enter. "You'll get killed!"

Akise smiled. "Now don't say that. It almost sounds like you care."

"Just because Yukki told you to protect me doesn't mean you have to do something as stupid as going up against two diary holders alone, without a diary yourself!"

"You underestimate me, Yuno."

Yuno glared. "I don't care what you say. I'm coming with you."

"Well, I guess it can't be helped," he said, taking her hand and squeezing it. "Just stay close to me."

****Time Skip****

The pair walked in on the end of the older diary holders' wedding.

"It appears Yuno Gasai has arrived, my dear Ai. And she brought a little friend," Marco said as he smirked. "I'm surprised you had the guts to show up, little girl. We know your diary is useless without the Amano boy by your side. I guess your love wasn't as perfect as ours, or he would have tried harder to survive."

"DON'T TALK ABOUT YUKKI AS IF YOU KNOW HIM!" She yelled as she pulled out one of her knives, ready to charge at him, when Ai threw a couple of her throwing knives at her causing her to stop short and deflect them.

Marco laughed. "You're awfully confident for a girl who can't use her diary! You stand no chance against us!

Ai smiled as she took out her diary. Her smug look quickly turned into one of worry.

"M-Marco..."

"What?"

"A Dead End flag has been set for me..."

"What!? That's impossible!" He yelled, looking over his diary and noticing he too had a Dead End set.

"Yuno..." Akise murmured.

"What?"

"I'll distract them, then use that opportunity to sneak up behind them and strike."

Yuno nodded determinedly.

Akise stepped forward and said with an air of confidence, "Oh but of course your Dead End has been set. You obviously weren't expecting me to arrive with Miss. Gasai here. As I'm sure your diaries have not informed you of this particular bit of information, but my intellect is by far superior to yours."

"Why you little-!" Marco snarled. "You're no match for me in any way! Brains or brawn! In fact, your idea of a sneak attack was that of an amateur!"

With that he turned and grabbed Yuno, who was attempting to stab him in the back, and twisted her arm behind her and pressed her to the floor.

"Yuno!"

"It's too bad I'll have to kill you, Gasai. A real shame. I pity you, after all. A love story like yours is utterly tragic. The boy you loved, who used your love for him for nothing but personal gain, killed. It's almost enough to make me want to spare you. Unfortunately for you, my love for Ai and my vow to protect her from harm prevent me from doing so," he said as he took out his own knife and prepared to finish her.

"Marco!"

The man looked up quickly at the cry of his beloved to see her being held with a blade to her throat, having been distracted by her lover about to finish one of the biggest threats in the Survival Game, by Akise.

"Let her go!" He demanded.

Akise smirked. "It seems we both have something the other person wants. So let's try to come to an agreement, shall we?"


	5. Chapter 5

"Give me my wife back!" Marco snarled.

"Only if you give me my girl back."

"I don't think you're aware of who's calling the shots here, kid."

"Oh, I think I'm quite aware," Akise said as he applied a little more pressure to his blade, allowing a thin trail of blood to dribble down the purple haired woman's neck. "Here's the deal. You give me my girl, and I give you yours. If you harm her in any way, then your wife won't live to see your honeymoon."

"And how will I know that you won't kill her as soon as I release your little girlfriend?"

"Well you'll just have to take my word for it."

"What kind of lame ass answer is that!?"

"The only thing I'm concerned about as of now is the safety of Yuno. I couldn't care less about your wife. Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you feel the same way about Ai here? Do you really care what happens to Yuno as long as your wife is safe?"

"You're really irritating, boy. But I guess I've got no choice... All right. Let's negotiate."

"First, let Yuno up off the ground."

"And why would I-"

"I said let her up."

Marco reluctantly allowed the girl to stand but kept a firm hold on her.

"What now?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at Akise distrustfully.

"Shove her towards me."

"What?"

"On three."

"WAIT!"

"Yes?"

"What about Ai?"

"Well, it was implied that I would be shoving her towards you on three as well."

"Quit acting so smug! All right. On three."

"One... Two... Three!" He counted as he shoved Ai towards Marco, who did the same with Yuno.

The girls briefly brushed up against one another before they were reclaimed by their allies.

"Ha! Now that we're together again there's no way you two can beat us! Right Ai? Ai...? Ai what's wrong?"

Ai's knees began to tremble as she clutched her side. She coughed, blood dribbling down from her lips as Yuno smirked. Marco, confused and slightly scared, removed her hands from her side to see a large knife protruding from her body. "W-when...?"

Yuno smirked. "You should've known better than to underestimate me."

"M-Marco..." Ai whimpered as she collapsed.

"A-Ai!" He cried as he gathered the dying woman into his arms.

"I-I l-love y-you," she choked out with her final breath.

"Ai! Ai answer me! Ai..."

Marco, realizing that she was already gone, gently kissed her one final time and set her on the ground. He stood and turned to the two teenagers responsible for her death and glared at them with fury in his eyes.

"You two are dead."


	6. Chapter 6

Marco ran at them and punched Akise hard in the face, causing him to fly backwards into a wall.

"Akise!"

Marco quickly turned on Yuno when her attention was on Akise and attempted to stab her with his knife. Yuno just barely deflected it and began a knife fight with Marco, both of them deflecting the other's attack, unable to land a hit.

"You're gonna pay for what you've done!" He growled and knocked the knife out of her hand before he pushed her to the ground and lifted his knife to land the final blow.

Yuno shut her eyes bracing herself for the knife that was sure to enter her body.

_'At least I'll see Yukki_ _again...' _she thought. Then her thoughts changed from Yukki to Akise lying on the ground. _'I was actually starting to think he might not be so bad... I guess we'll never have the chance to get closer now..." _

A few seconds later, Yuno opened her eyes, confused as to why she hasn't felt any pain yet to see Marco with his eyes wide fall forward next to her and Akise holding a bloody knife. Yuno looked to the side to see a large, deep wound on Marco's back right about where his heart should be.

"I-Is he dead?" Yuno asked.

"I think so..." Akise said, kneeling down to take then man's diary. "13:37. Marco Ikusaba dies. Dead end."

"You saved me..."

Akise smiled.

"I told you I'd protect you, didn't I?" He said as he helped her up off of the ground.

"So where to next?" She asked, assuming he had information on the 11th's location like he had with the two 7ths.

"Well I was thinking maybe we could go to an amusement park or something."

"Why would the 11th be at an amusement park?"

"He's not. I thought maybe we could go there, have some fun together."

Yuno narrowed her eyes. "We don't have time to goof off!"

"Try not to think of it as goofing off. The 11th will not be nearly as easy to kill as these two were. So it would be logical to use the rest of today to relax and have fun, and go after the 11th tomorrow. After all, what could be a better way to spend what could possibly be your last day to live than having fun?"

**Author Note: I'm sorry this chapter was so bad... I'll try to make up for it in the next few... **


	7. Chapter 7

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this."

"Hey, don't say that. This'll be fun,"Akise said as he looked around at all the attractions the park had to offer.

"The last time I came here I was with Yukki..."

"Yuno... I know he died not too long ago but... It would probably be best for you too... Move on as soon as possible. Find another person to love and obsess over."

"Are you suggesting I should start obsessing over you?" She snorted.

"Maybe."

"You may be starting to grow on me, but not THAT much. No one can take Yukki's place."

"We'll see about that..." He mumbled.

"What was that?"

"I said let's go on that," he said, pointing to a roller coaster. "Unless it's too scary for you."

"Of course it isn't! I love roller coasters. I made Yukki go on all off them with me."

"Come on. Let's get in line," he said taking her hand and leading her to the line all the while looking slightly annoyed.

_'I kind of wish she would stop thinking about Yukki so much,'_ he thought.

Over the past few days, Akise had unwittingly developed a crush on his pink haired companion. He couldn't help but notice how cute she was when she smiled, or how pretty her hair was. He didn't mind her more murderous, scary side either. It was what made her Yuno.

Yuno, on the other hand, wasn't sure how she felt about Akise. She's always loved Yukki, and only Yukki. Although sometimes Yukki's cowardice DID get on her nerves. Although she couldn't stand the thought of him getting hurt and knew she was more than capable to protect both of them, sometimes she wished Yukki could be her knight in shining armor, her hero, and protect HER for a change. Like Akise had.

Yuno shook her head as she stepped forward and got on the ride. She couldn't be falling in love with Akise. Could she?

****Time Skip****

Yuno and Akise went on every fast paced ride the park owned. Yuno loved every bit of it. Akise, after the first dozen or so rides, not so much.

"C'mon Akise! Let's go on another!" Yuno giggled, in a great mood.

"W-why don't we do something slower, Yuno... Say... The Ferris Wheel?"

Yuno's expression darkened. "Yukki and I went on the Ferris Wheel last time..."

"Oh... So no Ferris wheel then."

"No... It's okay. Let's go," she said, grabbing his hand and dragging a surprised Akise towards the ride.

The line was short, and they quickly got on. They slowly went up, up, up, Akise watching Yuno all the while. She was lost in thought, staring at the people below. Akise, without really thinking, reached over and played with her hair. Yuno stiffened.

"What're you doing?" She asked.

"Oh!" He said, letting go of her hair. "I'm sorry. I guess I got distracted by your beauty."

Yuno couldn't help but blush slightly. Yukki never said anything like that to her before. Akise once again reached over and began to stroke her cheek, surprised she hasn't stopped him yet.

_'Why aren't I stopping him?' _she thought. _'Do I even want him to stop?'_

When Akise started to lean in, she found herself leaning in as well. Their lips slowly went from being a few inches apart to a few centimeters.

Their lips were just about to touch when they heard, "All right kids, ride's over. Go do that somewhere else."

The two quickly jerked away from each other, both blushing a deep red.

"C-C'mon Yuno. It's about time for us to leave for the night anyway!" He said, taking her hand and leading her away quickly.

Yuno was still blushing a few minutes later when he squeezed her hand, as if to assure himself that she was still there and hadn't tried to kill him yet, and surprised him and herself when she squeezed back.


	8. Chapter 8

The next day, Yuno and Akise were discussing their plans to defeat the 11th. Neither had mentioned the almost kiss, although Akise WAS eager to address it. Yuno, on the other hand, was still confused about how she felt about Akise and chose to pretend that it had never happened.

"As he's the mayor of Sakurami City, he's bound to have tons of security members, so it could be rather hard to get to him," Akise explained. "So there's a pretty big chance we could be killed before we even find him."

"Damn..."

"We do have one advantage though. I've got some information on his diary, which is known as The Watcher. It allows him to check the entries of all of the diary holders."

"And how does that help us?"

"Just think about it. I don't have a diary, and now that Yukiteru-kun is dead, your diary is useless. Meaning he won't be able to see what we're doing in his diary."

"Oh! So... If we were to sneak in to wherever he's currently hiding out, he won't be able to use his diary to see that, making it easier for us."

"Exactly. Although it's not too much of an advantage, with all of the bodyguards and security cameras he most likely will have."

"That doesn't matter. That man is nothing without his diary. Do you know where he's staying?"

"I do."

"Then what're we waiting for? Let's go!"

"Actually... I was wondering if we would talk about something first," Akise muttered, a faint blush on his cheeks.

"About?" Yuno asked as she tilted her head.

"Yesterday on the Ferris wheel."

Yuno instantly reddened. "There's nothing to talk about."

"I tried to kiss you."

"I know."

"You didn't try to stop me."

"I know."

"Does this mean that you-"

"Shut up! We don't have time to waste. We're going to go kill the 11th! Right now!" Yuno yelled as she let some of her hair fall into her face to cover her burning cheeks.

"Alright," Akise sighed as he stood up and offered a hand to her. "But just so you know, this conversation isn't over yet."

** Author Note: Sorry if this chapter was kind of short and boring. Once again I'll try to make up for it in the next couple of chapters...**


	9. Chapter 9

"So this is it?" Yuno asked, looking up at the large building located in the middle of Sakurami City. "It's not very well hidden."

"If my sources are correct, this should be it. Perhaps he was hoping if he tried to blend in he would be less conspicuous. It could also be so he wouldn't raise suspicion with the people of this city, with requesting so many guards and then hiding out in an unknown location."

Yuno bounced with anticipation, only half listening to Akise's reasoning.

"Well, whatever his plan is, it won't work..." Yuno mumbled as she fingered her axe, which she used to kill the Twelth and was planning to use to behead the Eleventh.

Akise, sensing her impatience to head in and start looking for the Eleventh, got out his weapon. "Now Yuno, remember, try not to do anything rash. If we're going to make it all the way to him we're going to need to be as discreet as possible. The smallest amount of people we kill on our way up the better. Got it?"

When he got no response, he turned around to see why she didn't anything and was momentarily confused when he saw that she was no longer there.

"Where could she have-"

Akise was cut off by numerous sounds of pain from inside the building.

"She's so impatient," he sighed as he headed in just in time to see Yuno split someone's head open with the axe.

Yuno pulled the axe out of the man's head, adding some more blood to the growing stains on her clothes.

Akise looked around, slightly annoyed that she ran in and started killing, which was against his plan, but also mildly impressed that she disposed of all the guards on the floor that quickly. Yuno began to head quickly to stairs to head up to the next floor and slaughter all who got in her way when Akise grabbed her wrist and help her still.

"What?" Yuno growled.

"We were supposed to keep quiet and make our way up without anyone knowing."

"It wouldn't work, there's too many guards everywhere."

"Well we wouldn't know if it was possible or not unless we tried!"

Yuno rolled her eyes. "Well, if you're going to do that, then go ahead. But I'm going to go as quickly as possible, which involves killing everyone in my way. It's not my fault if you can't keep up!" she said as she continued on her way and ran up the stairs.

Akise reluctantly followed. He may have found her plan to be too impulsive and risky, but if she insisted on going through with it then had no choice but to do it as well. He did promise to protect her, after all.


	10. Chapter 10

Akise arrived to the next floor to see Yuno cutting through security guards as if they were made of paper. Rather than let Yuno do all of the work, he took out his weapon to at least protect her from any attacks towards her blind spots, even though she's not some damsel in distress and can take care of her self, he figured it'd be better to be safe than sorry. He hurried across the floor to catch up to her.

Sensing a presence behind her, she turned to cut through him and paused for a second when she saw it was only Akise, but a second was all the guard behind her needed to finally land an attack in her moment of vulnerability. Akise widened his eyes and grabbed her, spinning so he took a knife to the back and she was our of harms way. Yuno stumbled.

"Akise why the hell would you-" she gasped at the sight.

"You... YOU BASTARD!" she screeched as she made short work of the guard, cutting him over and over again with her axe.

When she was satisfied she threw his dead body on the ground and turned to focus on Akise. She kneeled beside him and took out some first aid supplies Akise had advised her to bring. As she patched up his wound she worried he would need more than simple first aid to make it. The wound did seem pretty deep.

Noticing her worry, Akise tried to lighten the mood. "Hey don't worry, I promised Yukki I'd protect you, and I don't plan on dying until after you get your revenge."

"Don't you get it!? This isn't about Yukki anymore. He's dead... This is about not another important person to me... First my parents, then Yukki... I can't lose anyone else... I couldn't take it..."

"Yuno..." he said quietly as he cupped her face. "I... Didn't realize I meant so much to you..."

"Well... You didn't always... I mean... I even hated you at first but... Over these past few days... You've started to grow on me..."

Akise smiled as he slowly moved his face closer and closer, until he could feel her breath on his face. "I could say the same about you." he said as he began to gain proximity to her lips, and was pleased to see her close her eyes rather than push him away. Just as their lips were about to touch the door to the stairs leading to upstairs slammed open and they jerked their heads away in surprise.

Yuno quickly got up, glancing at Akise, seeing as he was a big shaky and may need help. Once again noticing her worry, he smirked at her and said, "I'm fine. Don't think I'll let myself die before I get that kiss~."


End file.
